In late November, Donald Trump inexplicably instigated a Twitter feud with Time magazine when he claimed they had reached out to him to discuss his being 2017’s “Person of the Year” recipient. While the president was ultimately recognized among the final contenders, however, he didn’t make the final cut, which awarded the women leading the #MeToo movement with the annual honor. To add further insult to injury, the magazine did bestow Trump with its top runner up status while acknowledging his highly unpresidential ability to “light up cable news for days” with his tweets before they “recede into nothingness.”
As of this writing, the president has not explicitly responded to Time‘s slight. He did offer up a general “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” tweet while the “Person of the Year” selection kept trending, but considering his account’s embattled status regarding Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Trump has been uncharacteristically silent on Twitter as of late. His many detractors, however, were not so quiet — especially when they realized the very magazine that had just launched the #MeToo movement into the spotlight had also given the stage to an accused sexual harasser, assaulter, and enabler.
Needless to say, people really aren’t happy about Time’s decision to acknowledge Trump — even if said acknowledgment includes veiled insults and fact-checking.
Because even though silence breakers are the person of the year, enablers of powerful sexual predators are the runners up? https://t.co/hoFbEE9aaF
— Maris Kreizman (@mariskreizman) December 6, 2017
This is trash and so is anyone making an argument for this. He didn’t “change the rules”. He collided with a hostile foreign government & has made a mockery of the office. https://t.co/U98WsfNTDr
— Cher Martinetti (@thecherness) December 6, 2017
Seriously, fuck you @TIME. Your Person of the Year means nothing if a man who has been accused of assault by multiple women is chosen as the runner up. pic.twitter.com/95krxKWgsD
— Lindsay Patton (@LindsayPatton) December 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/lindsaydevon/status/938426981254909954
Surreal: President Trump is mentioned 7 times in the article, both as someone accused of sexual harassment and whose election motivated women to speak out. He is also the 2017 Person of the Year runner up. pic.twitter.com/s5uWZe9iKS
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) December 6, 2017
Delete this trash https://t.co/mCy3AIZ9wk
— david but in survival mode (@Aerocles) December 6, 2017
Many were especially incensed by the fact that Trump, who has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by dozens of women, was otherwise given a stage grander than theirs.
https://twitter.com/HannahGeitner/status/938422058811346944
Also how can you name the people who have spoken out against sexual assault & harassment then give a man that MORE THAN 20 WOMEN HAVE OPENLY ACCUSED OF BOTH THINGS as first runner up? Trump is a sexual predator. Burn it all to the ground. https://t.co/U98WsfNTDr
— Cher Martinetti (@thecherness) December 6, 2017
However, others were quick to point out that many of Trump’s accusers were given a “shout out” in its “The Silence Breakers” main article.
For those asking, Trump’s many accusers do get a shout out in TIME’s Person of the Year “Silence Breakers” https://t.co/7BZzO9qeL0 pic.twitter.com/P2VnNp6YEg
— David Mack (@davidmackau) December 6, 2017
Regardless, people are still pissed (and they have a point).